"Uh... I really feel guilty about searching at a colleague's home..."
In the room where Haruka lives, Takagi wore gloves and searched through the wardrobe, looking somewhat unnatural. "And we're two big men, rummaging around the home of Detective Haruka, who's a young single woman..."
"We both have someone we like, what's there to be afraid of? Don't overthink it; just treat it as a regular search."
Senichi narrowed his eyes at the words. "Or is it that you have some thoughts that you need to apologize to Detective Sato for?"
"It's not like that!" Takagi blushed at the words, then quickly retorted, "I just genuinely think that this isn't right; I don't have any other intentions!"
"Alright, alright, I get what you mean." Senichi patted Takagi's shoulder. "What we need to do is help Haruka clear any suspicions. As long as we do it with integrity and a clear conscience, it's fine."
"Yeah, I understand." Takagi sighed at the words, finally accepting Senichi's perspective.
"Okay, enough chit-chat. Did you find anything?"
After the jokes, Senichi immediately got down to business. "Did you find any clothes with missing buttons?"
"No." Takagi shook his head. "I've checked all the clothes in the wardrobe just now; there's not a single shirt or suit jacket missing buttons."
"Is that so... I didn't find anything either." Senichi turned to the last part of the room. "Looks like this is the only place left."
"Ugh... Senichi-kun, this doesn't seem right..."
Takagi, who had just passed the mental hurdle, panicked when he saw Senichi heading towards that room, "Wait a minute. No matter what, this is a bit too rude, isn't it?"
"Click!"
With Takagi's slightly panicked words, Senichi, with an expression unchanged, directly pushed open the door of the room and stepped inside.
And the reason Takagi felt embarrassed about this room was that...
It was the bathroom!!!
Dragging himself to the door frame, Takagi peeked at Senichi in the bathroom, feeling inexplicably guilty.
And Senichi, who entered the bathroom, was now examining the bathroom in front of him.
Even in a place like the bathroom, the overall style maintained a clean and neat feeling as usual, without a sense of excessive disorder.
Only some clothes that needed washing were stacked in the laundry basket, waiting to be cleaned.
Regarding this, Senichi quickly focused his gaze on the clothes in this frame. In Takagi's hesitant expression, Senichi directly bent down to search through the clothes in the basket.
Fortunately, nothing awkward happened. After inspecting the coat, Senichi, picking up the second shirt, found that one button was missing at the cuff.
"What's this..." Takagi's voice was dry. "The button that fell at the crime scene..."
"Ah... it seems to have fallen from this shirt." Senichi looked at the shirt. "The brand matches, and the threads on the shirt are loose, making it easy to come off..."
"So it fell at the scene of the crime..."
Seeing the missing button on top, Takagi's heart became complicated. He was relieved that he no longer had to search for clothes in embarrassment, but finding the target item made him feel uneasy.
The conflicting emotions of this dilemma made Takagi extremely uncomfortable. At this moment, he didn't know whether to be relieved that he avoided embarrassment or feel uneasy about deepening suspicion on a colleague.
"So, what should we do now... we can't reach Detective Haruka, and she's now a major suspect..."
Takagi's expression became serious. "Should we issue a wanted order... but this is a family matter...
If the public learns that we, law enforcement personnel, are involved in a crime, it could cause a huge uproar. This would be an immeasurable blow to the police department."
Under normal circumstances, in an investigation at this stage with such a significant suspicion on Haruka and the inability to contact her, and considering that she might be fleeing to escape punishment, issuing a wanted order might be a reasonable move.
Especially considering the substantial impact of her identity, it would be a relatively proactive approach to issue a wanted order.
However, if things reached an irreparable point before coming out, it would be a complete dead end.
One could even anticipate how harsh the media's words would be.
For example, the Criminal Investigation Department covering up crimes committed by its own officers, attempting to conceal evidence, and other derogatory statements about the Criminal Investigation Department being a haven for corruption and filth, would turn into the most deadly blows one after another.
By then, perhaps someone of significance would have to come forward as a scapegoat, bowing down and resigning.
If they were to proactively issue a wanted order for arrest, it would be a bit better. Although the impact would still be significant, at least it could be seen as cutting losses.
Even if they struggled to catch their breath for a while, there would still be room for maneuvering. After all, in such a large organization, some people making mistakes is normal, and the organization promptly upholding justice is commendable.
In this way, at least one could preserve their life. After some time, people would forget about this, and the incident would be considered a thing of the past.
"I won't consider issuing an arrest warrant to apprehend Haruka."
Senichi naturally understood the implications of such an action but flatly denied the possibility raised by Takagi. "At least for now, the information is still confidential. Only the two of us know. If we report it, the situation will only escalate, and it won't end well.
Also, everything that follows will have to be done according to the orders of those bureaucrats. The nature of the matter will become even more complex.
It's foreseeable that, regardless of whether Haruka is suspected or not, she will be treated as a sacrificial lamb. That's not something I want to see."
"How did it come to this..."
Because there was Inspector Megure, a kind-hearted person, acting as a superior, and Kiyonaga Matsumoto, who was also an upright individual, Takagi had always been a small pawn. He went wherever there was a case to investigate, somewhat oblivious to the political sensitivity.
But after Senichi explained, Takagi immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. "So, what do we do now?"
"Find Haruka and solve this case." Senichi's eyes remained calm. "What we need to do now is race against time. Solving the case is the key to gaining the upper hand."
"But where do we find her?" Takagi scratched his head. "We can't contact Detective Haruka anymore!"
"If I'm not mistaken, she's probably there." Senichi quickly walked to the entrance to put on his shoes. "Let's go. We're heading out now."
"Eh? Detective Senichi, do you know where Haruka is?" Takagi hurriedly put on his shoes and closed the door. "Wait for me!"
Accompanied by the roar of the engine, the black car turned into a blur once again, speeding along the streets towards its destination.
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